五代 Five Dynasties · 词 Ci lyric
浪淘沙·帘外雨潺潺
Sand of the Washing Waves · Beyond the Curtain Rain Is Falling Softly
帘外雨潺潺，春意阑珊。
罗衾不耐五更寒。
梦里不知身是客，一晌贪欢。
独自莫凭栏，无限江山，别时容易见时难。
流水落花春去也，天上人间。
Spring is on the wane.
The silk quilt can't withstand the cold at dawn.
In dreams I don't know I'm a guest,
For a while I steal the joys of yesterday.
Alone, lean not on the railings,
Over the boundless rivers and mountains.
It's easy to part, hard to meet again.
Running water, fallen flowers, spring is gone —
As far apart as heaven and earth.
Meaning
On a chilly late-spring dawn, the poet hears rain beyond the curtain. Waking from a dream where he briefly forgot his captive status, he feels the harsh reality. He warns himself not to lean on the railings and gaze at the lost kingdom, for parting was easy but reunion is impossible. The spring is gone like flowing water and falling flowers, leaving a chasm as vast as between heaven and earth.
帘外传来潺潺的雨声，春意已到了将尽的时节。丝绸的薄被抵挡不住五更天的寒意。只有在梦里，才忘却了自己是羁留异乡的客子，贪享那片刻的欢娱。独自一人切莫去倚栏远望，那望不见尽头的故国江山，只会让人想起离别时容易、重见却难的无奈。看那流水带走落花、送春归去，往日与今朝，真如天上人间一般相隔。
Appreciation
The poem opens with auditory imagery of rain and fading spring, setting a melancholy tone. The thin quilt and dawn cold symbolize both physical and emotional chill. The dream contrasts sharply with waking reality, emphasizing the pain of loss. The final line 'as far apart as heaven and earth' encapsulates the king's utter despair. Every word is heartfelt, making this a masterpiece of sorrow.
【白话串讲】 “梦里不知身是客，一晌贪欢”——李煜在梦里还当自己是皇帝，醒来才发现早已是阶下囚。流水落花春去也，天上人间。这首词，是亡国之君最清醒也最痛的独白。 【意象与手法】 全词语似平淡而字字沉痛，善用跌宕与反衬。上片由雨声、春残、寒衾层层铺垫，以「梦里不知身是客，一晌贪欢」的短暂欢娱，反衬醒后「罗衾不耐五更寒」的彻骨凄凉；下片「独自莫凭栏」的劝诫，正见其不敢望、不忍望的绝望。结句「天上人间」以景语作情语，将亡国之恸浓缩于四字，举重若轻，是白描见血的笔法。 【情感与主旨】 李煜为南唐后主，开宝八年（975）国破降宋，被俘至汴京，封违命侯，实则幽囚。此词约作于其去世前夕（978），正值暮春。一个曾经的风流天子沦为阶下之囚，词中「身是客」「无限江山」直写亡国之痛与故国之思，是他人生最后阶段的血泪绝唱。 【名句点睛】 常考「流水落花春去也，天上人间」所写今昔巨落差与亡国之痛；「梦里不知身是客，一晌贪欢」以梦反衬现实的手法；「别时容易见时难」的对比与哲理。
Background
Li Yu, the last ruler of the Southern Tang kingdom, was captured in 975 and taken to the Song capital. He lived under house arrest, stripped of his throne. This poem, written near the end of his life in 978, expresses his grief as a captive during late spring. The 'guest' in the dream refers to his status as a prisoner, and the 'boundless rivers and mountains' are his lost kingdom.
李煜（937—978），字重光，号钟隐，南唐中主李璟第六子，961年嗣位，史称南唐后主。他精书法、善绘画、通音律，尤工词，是五代词坛的巨擘。开宝八年（975），宋军攻破金陵，李煜肉袒出降，被俘至汴京，封违命侯，实则被幽囚于宅邸，受尽屈辱。太平兴国三年（978）七夕，宋太宗赐牵机药将其毒杀。此词约作于其去世前夕（978）的暮春，正是他被囚汴京的最后一春。一个曾经的风流天子沦为阶下之囚，词中「身是客」「无限江山」「天上人间」直写亡国之痛与故国之思。据载李煜被俘后常「日夕以泪洗面」，其词作亦由前期写宫廷享乐的艳词，转为后期写亡国悲慨的血泪之音，此词正是他人生最后阶段的作品，字字如血，是他的绝命哀音。李煜在位十五年，前期沉湎声色，词作多写宫廷享乐；国破之后，词风大变，把亡国之痛、故国之思尽付词中，成就了词史上最沉痛的篇章。此词与《虞美人》皆作于汴京囚所，相传七夕之夜，宋太宗闻其「小楼昨夜又东风」之句而赐牵机药，此词「流水落花春去也」正是他生命将尽的谶语，读之尤觉悲凉。
Art
The language seems plain but carries deep emotion. The poet uses contrast and antithesis: the brief joy in dreams against the bitter cold of reality; the ease of parting versus the difficulty of reunion. The final metaphor 'heaven and earth' is stark and powerful. The poem's structure moves from sensory detail to emotional reflection, encapsulating a world of sorrow in a few lines.
全词语似平淡而字字沉痛，善用跌宕与反衬。上片由帘外雨声起笔，写春意阑珊、罗衾不耐五更寒，层层铺写凄冷之境；「梦里不知身是客，一晌贪欢」陡然一转，以梦里短暂欢娱反衬醒后彻骨凄凉，欢愈短促，悲愈深重，是反衬手法的极致。下片「独自莫凭栏」以劝诫语气自警，正见其不敢望、不忍望的绝望——「无限江山」望而不可即，「别时容易见时难」道尽亡国永隔之痛。结句「流水落花春去也，天上人间」以景语作情语：流水送春、落花飘零，春光已逝，而昔日与今朝正如天上人间之隔，将亡国之恸浓缩于四字，戛然而止，举重若轻。全词以雨声起、以春去结，意象连贯，跌宕起伏，语言平淡而情感浓烈，是李煜后期词「白描见血」的典型笔法，也是词史上以血写情的巅峰。全词上下片各五句，上片写梦中之欢与醒后之寒，下片写凭栏之望与春去之悲，今昔对照、虚实相生。尤妙在「梦里不知身是客」一句，以「不知」写「已知」之痛，梦愈欢而醒愈悲，反衬之力千钧，是李煜后期词「以血书者」最典型的笔法。
Allusions
The imagery of rain, fading spring, and cold dawn are traditional symbols of decline and sorrow. 'Running water and fallen flowers' echoes Li Yu's own earlier poem 'The Beautiful Lady Yu' and also alludes to Li Bai's line about flowing water. 'Heaven and earth' contrasts the former emperor's life with the captive's, a gap impossible to bridge. The allusions are seamlessly integrated, requiring no erudition to feel the pain.
「帘外雨潺潺，春意阑珊」化用晚唐五代伤春惜时之意象，与李璟「菡萏香销翠叶残」同调，皆以春残写国运；「流水落花春去也」承李煜《虞美人》「春花秋月何时了」之慨，亦暗合李白「流水落花窅然去」的逝水之叹，以春光逝去写故国难返。「天上人间」化用白居易《长恨歌》「上穷碧落下黄泉，两处茫茫皆不见」的仙凡之隔，浓缩了由帝王到囚徒的天壤之别；「别时容易见时难」则暗用曹丕「别日何易会日难」及唐人「相见时难别亦难」之意，而融入亡国永隔的至痛。「身是客」之「客」字，暗含客死他乡的宿命，是李煜对自己囚徒身份的沉痛自指。全词用典皆化于无形，以寻常语写非常痛，正是李煜词「以血书者」的体现。「罗衾不耐五更寒」暗用《古诗十九首》「凛凛岁云暮」的寒夜意象，以衾寒写心寒；「独自莫凭栏」则承屈原登高怀远的传统而反其意用之——不是登高望远以抒怀，而是怕望见故国而不敢凭栏，把登高怀乡的母题推向绝望之境，正是李煜「以反写正」的匠心所在。
Commentary
Wang Guowei praised Li Yu for writing with his very blood. This poem is a prime example of his sincere, unadorned expression of grief. Shen Jifei remarked that the lines about the dream are even more heartrending than those in 'The Beautiful Lady Yu'. Li Yu's genius lies in transforming personal tragedy into universal emotion.
王国维《人间词话》论李煜「后主之词，真所谓以血书者也」，又谓「词至李后主而眼界始大，感慨遂深，遂变伶工之词而为士大夫之词」，此词正是「以血书者」的代表。沈际飞评「梦里不知身是客」数句「情更凄于《虞美人》」，以为其痛过「一江春水向东流」。清人陈廷焯《白雨斋词话》称后主词「凄婉中见悲壮」，此词「天上人间」之收，正见悲壮之气。今人多从「亡国之痛」与「人生之思」双重解读：它既是李煜个人由帝而囚的血泪记录，也写出了人类共通的「失去之后方知珍贵」的普遍悲哀。此词与《虞美人》并称李煜后期双璧，千年来感动无数读者，是中国词史上最沉痛的作品之一，其价值在于以最真切的个人经验写出了最深广的人类情感。王国维《人间词话》又谓「李重光之词，神秀也」，赞其天然神韵；此词语语天然而字字血泪，正是「神秀」与「血书」的合一。词史上写亡国之痛者代有其人，而能以如此平易之语写如此深重之痛者，唯李煜一人，此词遂成为中国词史上不可逾越的高峰。
Prosody
Line by line
帘外雨潺潺，春意阑珊。
Beyond the curtain, rain falls softly; spring is fading. This opening soundscape and scene of late spring set a mournful tone, implying the passing of good times.
帘外传来潺潺的雨声，春意已到了将尽的时节。
Beyond the curtains the rain patters on; the spring mood is ebbing away.
起笔以雨声写春残，是全词凄冷基调的开端。「潺潺」写雨声之连绵，帘外雨声不断，说明夜雨竟夜，诗人独卧难眠；「春意阑珊」点出暮春时节，春意将尽。「阑珊」二字写春之将残，暗喻国运之衰、人生之暮：对李煜而言，春残不仅是季节之残，更是故国已亡、生命将尽的象征。此句由听觉（雨声）入视觉（春残），由外景入内情，以雨声的连绵写心绪的烦乱，以春残的衰飒写身世的凋零。全词不写国破家亡，而于「雨」「春残」中暗寓，正是李煜后期词以景写哀、含蓄沉痛的笔法，开篇即定全词凄清绝望的基调。
The opening writes the waning of spring through the sound of rain, the start of the lyric's desolate keynote. 'Pattering' writes the endless rain—beyond the curtains the rain without a break, showing the night rain lasting all night while the poet lies alone unable to sleep. 'Spring mood is ebbing' names the late spring hour, the spring nearly spent. The word 'ebbing' writes the failing of spring, covertly symbolizing the decline of the state and the twilight of life: for Li Yu, waning spring is not only the season's end but the symbol of a fallen kingdom and a life nearly over. The line moves from hearing (rain) to sight (waning spring), from outer scene to inner feeling, writing the turmoil of the mind through the endless rain and the withering of his lot through the decay of spring, the method of Li Yu's later verse that writes grief through scenery, reserved and bitter, the opening fixing the whole lyric's cold, despairing keynote.
罗衾不耐五更寒。
The silk quilt can't withstand the cold at dawn. 'Cannot withstand' describes both physical cold and inner chill, revealing the captive's desolation.
丝绸的薄被抵挡不住五更天的寒意。
The silk quilt cannot bear the cold of the fifth watch.
此句写五更寒侵，是全词由外景转入内感的枢纽。「罗衾」是丝绸的薄被，本为帝王之家的寝具，如今却抵挡不住五更寒意，可见其凄清孤冷。「不耐」二字双写身寒与心寒：身寒是实写，五更天最冷，薄被难御；心寒是虚写，亡国之痛、囚居之辱，比五更之寒更彻骨。以「罗衾」写昔日之奢华，以「不耐寒」写今日之凄凉，今昔对照，不言悲而悲自深。此句承接「春意阑珊」，由春残写到寒侵，层层逼出「梦里不知身是客」的转折：正因为现实中寒不可耐，才更贪恋梦中的片刻温暖，为下文反衬蓄势，是李煜善于以物写心、以实衬虚的体现。
The line writes the penetration of the predawn cold, the hinge where the lyric moves from outer scene to inner feeling. The 'silk quilt' is a thin silk cover, by the nature of things the bedding of an emperor's house, yet now it cannot bear the predawn cold, showing its desolation. The words 'cannot bear' double the bodily cold and the heart's cold: bodily cold is the real—the coldest hour of the night, the thin quilt no defense; heart's cold is the virtual—the grief of the fallen kingdom, the humiliation of imprisonment, more piercing than the predawn cold. Writing past luxury through the 'silk quilt' and present desolation through 'cannot bear the cold,' present and past set against each other, naming no grief yet grief deep of itself, the mark of Li Yu's skill at writing the mind through things and the virtual through the real.
梦里不知身是客，一晌贪欢。
In dreams I don't know I'm a guest, for a while I steal the joys of yesterday. Dream joy contrasts with waking sorrow; the word 'guest' hints at his prisoner status.
只有在梦里才忘却了自己是羁留异乡的客子，贪享那片刻的欢娱。
In the dream I knew not that I was a guest; for a moment, I snatched at joy.
此二句是全词最沉痛的反衬。「梦里不知身是客」写梦中忘却了自己囚徒的身份——只有在梦里，他才能回到过去，忘记「客」的屈辱；「一晌贪欢」写梦中的欢娱何其短暂，一晌（片刻）而已，醒来即散。「贪」字写尽对欢娱的渴望与对现实的逃避，愈「贪」愈见现实之不堪。以梦之欢反衬醒之悲：梦里愈是贪欢，醒后愈是凄凉，欢之短暂更衬悲之深长。「客」字尤为沉痛：李煜本是南唐之主，如今却成了汴京之「客」，一个「客」字道尽去国失位的屈辱与漂泊。此句以最平淡的语言写最深重的悲哀，把亡国之痛浓缩于梦醒之间，是「以乐景写哀」的极致，历来为评家所称道。
These two lines are the most bitter contrast of the lyric. 'In the dream I knew not that I was a guest' writes forgetting in the dream the identity of a prisoner—only in the dream can he return to the past and forget the humiliation of being a 'guest.' 'For a moment, I snatched at joy' writes how brief the joy of the dream, a moment only, gone on waking. The word 'snatched' writes all the craving for joy and the flight from reality—the more he 'snatches,' the more unbearable reality shows. The word 'guest' is especially bitter: Li Yu was by nature the lord of Southern Tang, now a 'guest' in Bianjing, and the single word tells all the humiliation and drifting of losing the state and the throne. The line writes the deepest grief in the plainest words, condensing the pain of the fallen kingdom into the moment between dream and waking, the extreme of 'writing grief through joyful scenery,' praised by critics across the ages.
独自莫凭栏，无限江山， 别时容易见时难。
Alone, do not lean on the rail; the boundless rivers and hills—parting was easy, meeting again hard.
独自一人切莫去倚栏远望，那望不见尽头的故国江山，只会让人想起离别时容易、重见却难的无奈。
Alone, do not lean on the balustrade and gaze on the endless rivers and hills; it was easy to part, hard to meet again.
下片由梦转醒，以自我劝诫写绝望。「独自莫凭栏」是劝自己不要独倚栏杆远望——凭栏本为望远，而望见「无限江山」只增悲痛，一个「莫」字写尽不敢望、不忍望的沉痛；「无限江山」写故国疆域之广，正见失去之惨，江山愈无限，失之愈可痛。「别时容易见时难」以对比写亡国永隔：当年离开金陵，只在一瞬之间，容易得近乎轻率；如今要再见故国，却比登天还难，永远无望。「容易」与「难」的强烈对照，道尽亡国之恨。此三句由劝诫到悲慨，由江山之痛到别离之恨，层层推进，把「莫凭栏」的绝望写得力透纸背，是下片情感的高潮，也是全词「以血书者」最沉痛之处。
The lower stanza turns from dream to waking, writing despair through self-admonition. 'Alone, do not lean on the rail' is the admonition to himself not to lean and gaze afar—leaning is meant for gazing far, yet to see the 'boundless rivers and hills' only adds grief, and the single word 'do not' writes all the pain of not daring to gaze, of being unable to bear the gaze. 'The boundless rivers and hills' writes the vastness of the lost kingdom, showing the cruelty of the loss—the more boundless the hills, the more bitter their loss. 'Parting was easy, meeting again hard' writes the eternal separation of the fallen state through contrast: leaving Jinling that year took only an instant, easy to the point of recklessness; now to see the kingdom again is harder than climbing to heaven, forever hopeless. The stark contrast of 'easy' and 'hard' tells all the hatred of the fallen state—the emotional climax of the lower stanza and the most bitter passage of the lyric, 'written in blood.'
流水落花春去也，天上人间。
Running water, fallen flowers, spring is gone — as far apart as heaven and earth. The imagery of water and flowers symbolizes irreversible loss; 'heaven and earth' contrasts his past and present, expressing utter despair.
看那流水带走落花、送春归去，往日与今朝，真如天上人间一般相隔。
Flowing water, fallen flowers—spring has gone; in heaven, or on earth?
结句以景语收束，将全词情感推向顶点。「流水落花春去也」写流水送春、落花随逝，春光一去不返，是实景，更是喻象：春之去，喻故国之亡、欢娱之尽、生命之衰，一切美好的时光都已随流水落花逝去。「天上人间」四字陡转，以景语作情语，写昔日帝王之尊与今朝囚徒之苦，正如天上与人间之隔，判然两境，永难相接。此句不写一个「悲」字，而亡国之恸、今昔之痛尽在其中，戛然而止，余悲不尽。「天上人间」四字举重若轻，将个人的亡国之痛升华为对人生巨变的普遍感叹，是全词的总结与升华，也是李煜词「以血书者」的最强音，千载之下犹令人动容，是中国词史上最著名的结句之一。
The closing line ends in scenery, pushing the lyric's feeling to its peak. 'Flowing water, fallen flowers—spring has gone' writes the water sending spring and the flowers drifting away, the spring gone never to return—the real scenery, and yet a metaphor: the going of spring images the fall of the kingdom, the end of pleasure, the decline of life, all the fair times gone with the flowing water and falling flowers. 'In heaven, or on earth?' turns suddenly, using scenery as feeling, writing the gulf between the dignity of the former emperor and the suffering of the present prisoner, as great as that between heaven and earth, two realms beyond meeting. The line names no word of 'grief,' yet the anguish of the fallen state and the pain of present and past are all within it, stopping abruptly, the grief unending—the strongest note of Li Yu's 'writing in blood,' one of the most famous closing lines in the history of the Chinese lyric.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
Both poems use flowing water as a metaphor for sorrow and irretrievable loss. 'The Beautiful Lady Yu' is more direct in its lament, while this poem is more subtle and desolate.
《虞美人》与《浪淘沙》同为李煜亡国后的绝命词，可并读见其词风。《虞美人》以「春花秋月何时了」起问，写「故国不堪回首月明中」，结于「问君能有几多愁？恰似一江春水向东流」，以江水喻愁，愁情浩荡，是设问与比喻的典范；《浪淘沙》以「帘外雨潺潺」写景起，写「梦里不知身是客」的梦醒之悲，结于「天上人间」的今昔判隔，以反衬与对比见痛。一以「一江春水」写愁之长，一以「天上人间」写痛之深；一抒写于问中，一痛写于景中。两词同为「以血书者」，而章法、意象各异，正可见李煜后期词在艺术上的多种面貌，并读更能体会其亡国之痛的深广。
相见欢·无言独上西楼 Joy of Meeting: Silently I Ascend the West Tower Alone 李煜 · 同作者、同写囚中清秋之愁 Same author, similar captive sorrowBoth depict solitary confinement and longing. 'Joy of Meeting' is set in autumn, this poem in spring, yet both convey deep melancholy.
《相见欢·无言独上西楼》与《浪淘沙》同为李煜被囚汴京之作，可对照读。前者写清秋之夜：「无言独上西楼，月如钩，寂寞梧桐深院锁清秋」，以「剪不断，理还乱，是离愁」写愁之纷乱难理，末句「别是一般滋味在心头」写愁之难以言说，是借景写愁、以愁写心的名篇；后者写暮春之晨：「帘外雨潺潺，春意阑珊」，以「梦里不知身是客」写梦醒之悲，「天上人间」写今昔巨变。一写秋夜之愁，一写春晨之悲；一以「剪不断理还乱」写愁之纷乱，一以「别时容易见时难」写别之永诀。两词季节不同、意象不同，而亡国之痛相同，并读可见李煜被囚期间词作的丰富与情感的深广。